Hydraulic power transmission with bypass flow control valve



Nov. 8, 1949 w. BROWNV HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION WITH BYPASS FLOW CONTROL VALVE Filed Dec. 26, 1944.

INVEN TOR. WARREN BROWN ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 8, 1949 HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION WITH BYPASS FLOW CONTROL VALVE Warren Brown, Drexel Hill, Pa., asslgnor to Vickers Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation Application December 26, 1944, serial No. 52:9,826

(ci. eso-s) of Michigan 13 Claims. 1 This invention relates to power transmissions,

particularly to those of the type comprising two or more fluid pressure energy translating devices, one of which may function as a pump and another as a fluid motor.

The invention is particularly adapted for use with a reeling device and has been illustrated as applied to a mechanism of this character although it will be understood that the invention is equally adaptable to other applications.

In order to maintain a uniformly constant tension upon a strip of material being wound upon a reel, it is necessary, as the diameter of the reeled material increases, to keepv the peripheral speed of the reel at a substantially constant value.

As the diameter of the material onl the reel increases, the torque on the reel must be increased, and the speed of the reel must be decreased proportionally to the increase in diameter of the material being wound upon the reel. As the diameter of the wound material increases, the torque of the driving motor must gradually increase, and the speed of the motor must gradually decrease. The reason for this is that the strip of material is being delivered at a uniform linear speed while the reel increases in diameter, and its rotary speed decreases relative to the peripheral speed.

In the past, hydraulic power transmissions comprising a fixed displacement pump and a variable displacement motor, the displacement of which was controlled by an automatic pressure responsive regulator, have been used fairly satisfactorily to maintain constant tension on the material being reeled. In other cases, a transmission utilizinga xed displacement pump and motor together with a throttle valve bleedoff to control the speed of the motor has been used with partial success. However, the rst method of maintaining constant tension, although much more expensive because of the difference in cost between a constant and a variable displacement motor, was preferred because of being more accurate than an ordinary throttle valve bleed-oli. The throttle valve requires manual operation and control, and a slight error in judgment increases or decreases the flow of fluid being controlled by the throttle valve with serious consequences.

It is an object of this invention to provide a pressure responsive, flow regulating device for a hydraulic transmission for driving a reel or other load device containing a fixed displacement type pump and motor which will automatically change the speed of the motor driving the reel or load device in response to changes in torque.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a power transmission and control there,- for which will operate to maintain a constant' tension on a strip of material being wound on a reel and maintain a constantperipheral speed on the reeled material automatically in accordance with the load on the transmission.

It is also an object of the present invention to of material being wound upon thevreel increases in diameter, thereby maintaining a uniform constant tension upon the material.

It isa further object of this invention to provide a simply and economically constructed pressure responsive valve to be used in conjunction with a fixed displacement pump and motor driving a reel or other load device which is more economical than the use of a variable motor and more accurate than an ordinary throttle valve bleed-off. a

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, referencer being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing the single ligure shown is a diagrammatic vview of a power transmission system incorporating a preferred form of the present invention.

Referring now to the single figure, there is illustrated a pump I0 of the iixed displacement type, which may be driven by an electric motor Il, which is supplied with fluid from a tank I2 by means of a suction conduit I4. The pump Il)v delivers fluid under pressure to a hydraulic motor I6 of the xed displacement type by means of a delivery conduit I8, the return fluid from the motor I6 being delivered to the tank I2 by means of a conduit 20. The motor I6 drives a reel 22 used for the purpose of winding a. strip of material thereon. i

A suitable relief valve 23 m'ay be provided in the conduit I8 and is preferably constructed in accordance with the disclosure of the patent to Harry F. Vickers, No. 2,043,453. Valves of this character may be provided with a venting port for venting the control chamber in order to permit the main valve to act as an unloading valve and by pass the pump delivery at negligible pressure. A suitable manually controlled, two-way control valve 25 is connected by means of a conduit 21 to the venting port 29 and to tank I2 by means of a conduit 3|. In one position, valve 25 will close venting port 2u and direct rluid irom pump IU to motor I6 to start said motor, while in another position valve 25 will open venting port 29 to tank I2 by means or' conduits 21 and 3|, permitting valve 23 to open completely and unload pump Il) to tank I2 by means of conduit 33, thus stopping motor la. Relier' valve 23 also serves as a Salety factor in limiting the maximum pressure able to be developed in the system.

A branch conduit 24 of the pump delivery conduit I8 connects to an inlet port 26 of a now regulating valve 28 which also has an outlet port 30 which connects to tank I2 by a conduit 35 and a drain port 31 connected to tank I2 by means of a conduit 39.

The flow regulating valve 28 is comprised of a housing containing a pressure responsive throttle valve 32 and a hydrostatic compensating valve 34 in series therewith and responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the nrst throttle valve 32.

The hydrostatic compensating valve 34 is comprised of a piston 36 connected to a stern 38, at the other end of which is a poppet valve 40. A coil spring 42 located within a spring chamber 44 and abutting the upper side of piston 36 and the inner side of an end cap 46 of valve 28, the space between which forms chamber 44, normally unseats valve 4U from a valve seat 48. An inlet chamber 50 of compensating valve 34 is in open communication with inlet port 26 of valve 28 by means of a passageway 52 and is also in communication with a chamber 54 located within the housing of valve 28 when poppet valve 40 is unseated. A conduit 56 connects chamber 54 to a chamber 58 on the underside of piston 36 so as to make piston 36 responsive to pressure increases or decreases within chamber 54 and thus respectively seat or unseat inlet valve 48.

A conduit 68 connects inlet chamber 58 of compensating valve 34 with a pressure chamber 62 of throttle valve 32 which is comprised of a piston 64 connected to a stem 66 which is tapered at its end to form a metering bypass valve 61. A coil spring 68 of predetermined resistance characteristics is located within a chamber 18 formed in the space between the upper side of piston 64 and the inner side of end cap 46 of valve 28. A spring retainer member 12 fitting against a shoulder 13 formed at one end of an adjustable screw 14 and abutting the upper end of s pring 68 positions the lower end of spring 68 against the upper side of piston 64. The spring 68 acts to position valve 61 so as to normally rest Jon an adjustable set screw 16 and form an orifice 18 between chamber 54 and a passageway 80 which is in communication with outlet port 38.

Valve 61 is designed to make possible a gradually increasing flow of iiuid through orifice 18 by gradually increasing the size of orifice 18 in predetermined relation to an increase of pressure 1n chamber 82 of valve 32.

Chamber 44 of valve 34 is vented by means of a conduit 82 which forms a communication be tween chamber 44 and passageway 80. This also serves to transmit any back pressure existing at port 36 over to chamber 44 where it can have a compensating effect on piston 36, thus making valve 34 truly responsive to the pressure difference existing across throttle 61. Chamber 18 of valve 32 is vented by means of a passageway 83 which connects chamber 18 to drain port 31 and conduit 39 connecting drain port 31 to tank I2 and drains any fluid seepage past piston 64 to tank I2.

Protective caps 84 and 86 are threaded over adjustable screw 14 and calibrated set screw 16.

To start operation, the control handle of valve is shifted by the operator to close venting port 28 of valve 25 and to direct full pump flow to motor I6. With the pump IIJ running and the material just starting to be wound upon reel 22, the tension upon the winding material is at normal operating value. Fluid pressure in conduit I8 is low because the radius at which the strip tension is acting is small, creating a low torque, and the fluid vmotor is operating the reel at the highest possible speed. At the same time as uid under pressure is being delivered by pump I0 to motor I6, a certain amount of uid is also being bypassed from pump I0 through valve 28 to tank I2. The fluid being bypassed enters conduit 24, inlet port 26 of valve 28, passageway 52, inlet chamber 50, past inlet valve 40 to chamber 54, through orifice 18, passageway 80, outlet port and conduit to tank I2. At the same time, iiuid in chamber 54 enters conduit 56 to chamber 58 and acts against piston 36. Also at the same time, iiuid under pressure entering inlet chamber 50 of valve 34 also enters chamber 62 of valve 32 by means of passageway 60. Pressure in chamber 62 is equivalent to pressure in conduit n I8 while pressure in chamber 58 of valve 34 is equivalent to pressure in chamber 54 of valve 28.

Valve 34 acts to maintain a uniform predetermined pressure drop across orifice 18, thus maintaining constant the rate of flow through the valve for any given setting of the throttle 32. Any increase in pressure in chamber 54, and consequently in chamber 58, tends to close poppet valve 40, thus maintaining constantly uniform the pressure in chamber 54 and likewise the rate of flow through orifice 18 at a given setting.

As the diameter of the wound material on the reel increases, the pressure in conduit I8 will increase because of the increased torque of motor I6, which pressure will immediately react on the underside of piston 64 of valve 32. The increased pressure in conduit I8 will raise piston 64 and stem 61 a predetermined amount, increasing the size of the orice opening 18. Orifice 18 increases in size in predetermined relationship to the increase of pressure in conduit I8, thus increasing the ow of fluid being bypassed from pump Illv and proportionately decreasing the supply of fluid to motor I6 and consequently reducing its speed. By increasing the torque of motor I6 and decreasing its speed, as the wound material increases vain diameter its rotary speed will decrease relative to its peripheral speed and a constant uniform tension will be maintained on the wound material. This is accomplished by the pressure in line I8 which progressively increases as the reel driving torque increases and by its reaction on piston 64 progressively overcomes the force of spring 68 and consequently lifts the throttle valve 61. The curvature of throttle 61 is so chosen that for every position thereof (which corresponds to la given reel torque) the throttle opening will pass that quantity of oil represented by the difference between pump displacement and motor displacement (at the. speed corresponding to such given reel torque). Since constant tension and linear speed are desired in the strip being wound, it follows that, neglecting losses, the hydraulic horse-` power required will be constant. In other words, the product of motor displacement and motor pressure should be a constant. Accordingly, by properly shaping the throttle 61, there is provided an orifice which will vary in size automatically in accordance with pressure changes in line I8, and, since the compensating valve 34 maintains a `constant pressure drop across this orifice, the flow through throttle 61 will be in exact proportion to its size. f

It will be understood that departures from the condition of true constant hydraulic horsepower can be achieved if desired by proper proportioning of the throttle 61. Thus, compensation for losses at high motor speeds can be built into the valve so as to maintain true constant output horsepower at the real hub. Likewise, in cases where it is desired to vary the tension in the strip as the diameter increases, this may be done with equal facility by providing the proper shape at throttle 61.

When the strip of material is completely Wound upon reel 22, the control handle of valve 25 is shifted bythe operator, opening venting port 29 to tank I2 by means of conduits 21 and 3l permitting valve 23 to open completely andl unload pump I Il to tank I2'by means of conduit 33, completely bypassing motor I 6 and thus stopping said motor.

It should be noted that the size of orifice 18 is originally set to pass a predetermined flow of uid by means of set screw 16. This will be adjusted to provide the correct motor speed required at the beginning of a Winding operation and its setting will depend upon the diameter of the reel core.

As a constant uniform tension may be maintained upon the strip f material increasing in diameter as it is being wound upon the reel 22 by decreasing the speed of the motor relative to the increase in torque of such motor, the ow regulating device is a simple and economical means o of performing this function. It should be noted that the speed of the motor I6 driving the reel 22 is dependent upon the fluid volume output of pump Ill reaching motor I6. The flow regulating device will bypass a predetermined uniformly y increasing ow of uid from-pumpV IIL-decreasing the speed of motor I6 in relative proportion to a 4predetermined increase of pressure developed by an increase in torque of motor I6. Thus, a uniform constant tension is maintained on the winding strip of material, increasing in diameter as it is being wound upon the reel.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow. Although the invention has'been shown to be suitable and adaptable for use in a hydraulic transmission for driving a reel comprising a fixed displacement pump and lmotor driving the reel, it may be successfullyA applied in a similar hydraulic transmission for driving any load device where similar results are desired. Thus, the invention may be applied in a hydraulic transmission 'containing a fixed dissponse to changes in torque.

What is claimed is as follows: 1. A flow-regulating device for use in a hydraulic power system for driving a load device at varying speeds in response to change in torque and comprising in combination a passage through which fluid is adapted to flow at a regulated rate, a throttle in said passage, means for adjusting said throttle automatically in response to pressure changes at the entrance to said passage to regulatethe throttle opening as a function of such pressure, and means in series with the throttle in the passage for maintaining a predetermined constant pressure drop across said throttle.

2. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a reel and having a pump and a iiuid motor of fixed volumetric displacement, the combination of a flow-regulating device comprising an adjustable calibrated throttle valve shaped and designed to permit bypassing of an increasing amount of fluid to decrease the speed of the motor relative to a predetermined increase of pressure at the motor, means including a second throttling valve in series therewith and responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the first throttle for maintaining a substantially constant pressure drop across the first throttle, and automatic means responsive to the pressure required to drive the motor for adjusting the first throttle.

3` A flow-regulating device for use in a hydraulic power system for driving a load device at varying speeds in response to changes in torque and comprising in combination a passage through which uid is adapted to flow at a regulated rate, a throttle in said passage, means for adjusting said throttle automatically in response to pressure changes at the entrance t0 said passage to regulate the throttle opening as a function of such pressure, and means comprising a second pressure responsive throttle valve in series in the passage with the first throttle valve for maintaining a predetermined constant pressure drop across said throttle.

4. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a load device at varying speeds and torques but at substantially constant horsepower and having a pump and a fluid motor of fixed volumetric displacement, the combination of a flow-regulating device comprising an adjustable throttle valve, means including a second throttling valve in series therewith and responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the rst throttle for mainfor maintaining a substantially constant .pressure drop across the rst throttle, and automatic means responsive to the pressure required to drive the motor for adjusting the first throttle.

6. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a load device at varying speeds and torques but at substantially constant horsepower and having a pump and fluid motor of fixed volumetric displacement, the combination of a flowregulating device having an inlet port and a bypass port, comprising a first throttle responsive to and adjustable by the pressure at the motor and designed to bypass around said motor an increasing amount of iiuid with an increase of pump pressure whereby the speed of the motor driving the load device is decreased relative to an increase of torque at said motor, and a second throttle valve in series with the first throttle valve responsive to pressure changes ahead ofl pass around said motor an increasing amount of iiuid with an increase of pump pressure whereby the speed of the motor driving the load device is decreased relative to an increase of torque at said motor, and a second throttle valve in series with the first throttle valve responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the first throt.. tle for maintaining a substantially constant pressure drop across the first throttle.,

8. In a hydraulic power transmission system for driving a load device at speeds which are varied in response to changes in torque and containing a fluid pump and motor, the combination of a flow-regulating device comprising an adjustable first throttle valve responsive to and adjustable by pressure changes at the motor whereby the resistance of the throttle varies in predetermined relationship to changes of pressure at said motor, and a second throttle valve in series with the first throttle valve being responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the first throttle for maintaining a constant pressure drop across the rst throttle.

9. In a hydraulic power transmission system for driving a load device at varying speeds and torques but at substantially constant horsepower and containing a fiuid pump and motor, the combination of a flow-regulating device comprising an adjustable first throttle valve responsive to and adjustable by pressure changes at the motor whereby the resistance of the throttle varies in predetermined relationship to changes of pressure at said motor, and a second throttle valve in series with the first throttle valve being responsive to pressure changes ahead of and beyond the first throttle for maintaining a constant pressure drop across the rst throttle,

l0. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a load device at a speed which varies oppositely and as a predetermined function of load torque and having a pump and a fluid motor, the

combination therewith of a first throttle valve connected to vary the rate ofl fluid flowing through the motor, means for varying the opening through the first throttle valve in response to change in pressure at the motor, and a compensating throttle valve connected to control the pressure drop across the first throttle valve including means responsive to the pressure drop across the first throttle valve for controlling the opening at the compensating throttle valve.

11. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a load device at a speed which varies oppositely and as a predetermined function of load torque and having a pump and a uid motor, the combination therewith of a first throttle valve connected to vary 'the rate of fluid flowing through the motor, means for varying the opening through the first throttle valve in response to changes inpressure at the motor, and a compensating throttle valve connected in series with the rst throttle valve and responsive to the pressures across the same for maintaining a sustantially constant pressure drop across the first throttle valve.

12. In a hydraulic power transmission for driving a load device at a speed which varies oppositely and as a predetermined function of load torque and having a pump and a fluid motor, the combination therewith of means forming a bypass ahead of the motor', a first throttle valveA responsive to and adjustable -by changes of pressure at the motor for varying the by-pass volume and a second throttle valve responsive to the pressures ahead of and beyond the first throttle for maintaining a substantially constant pressure drop across the first throttle.

13. In a hydraulic power transmission for driv.. ing a load device at a speed which varies oppositely and as a predetermined function of load torque and having a pump and a fluid motor, the combination therewith of means forming a by-pass ahead of the motor, a first throttle valve responsive to and adjustable by changes of prese sure at the motor for varying the by-pass volume and a second throttle valve in series with the first throttle valve and responsive to the pressures ahead of and beyond the first throttle for maintaining a substantially constant pressure drop across the first throttle.

WARREN BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,314,746 Hayes Sept. 2, 1919 2,059,152 Smith Oct. 27, 1936 2,064,864 Temple Dec. 22, 1936 2,082,473 Tyler June 1, 1937 2,111,964 Crane Mar. 22, 1938 2,181,049 Douglas Nov. 21, 1939 2,255,783 Kendrick Sept. 16, 1941 2,272,684 Vickers Feb. 10, 1942 2,288,830 Nye July 7, 1942 2,343,375 Herman Mar. 7, 1944 

